


flower crowns

by gloworm



Series: home [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Ace Leon, Bisexual Piers, Flower Crowns, Healthy Relationships, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Trans Leon, Trans Piers, featuring a decade old crush and cute memories, we evolved to hand holding yall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22090291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloworm/pseuds/gloworm
Summary: Leon remembered wanting to do a lot of things with Piers, so badly that it ached deep in his chest.
Relationships: Leon/Piers
Series: home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590046
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	1. rest

**Author's Note:**

> did anyone get my meowth joke???? did ya????? anyway this one is cute!

Leon’s hand flexed, the muscles twitching painfully as he curled his fingers. He curled the scrunchie around his hand and swept up the insane amount of hair he had into a messy bun at the back of his head before tugging up his hood, not making too much an effort to hide that it’d be suspicious. Involuntary thoughts of Rose entered his head, the man’s constant attention-seeking behavior via pretending to hide in public and play dumb when he was caught already exhausting him. Shaking those thoughts from his head Leon slipped from his hotel in Hammerlocke, excuses fluttering through his mind just in case he was caught, though he really hoped he wasn’t. He had a specific plan in mind and a friend who would help him get there. Releasing the Meowth as he stepped outside, the cat pokemon yawned and stretched before glancing around. Her yellow eyes squinted in the bright morning light, pupils turning into slits as she looked at Leon. Her big grin widened a fraction as she recognized where they were and what they were doing, reaching up to snag a hand in the pocket of his hoodie and tug him down the street.

Leon glanced around, keeping his head tilted down to watch her as she wove them through the morning crowd with ease. Despite having done this several times before it still made him anxious, sliding his tongue against the back of his teeth as he considered the option of being caught without his champion gear on. He tucked a hand up against his chest, tapping his fingers against the firm surface his binder created. Chenille mews and tugs his pocket, managing to steer him out of the city without any issue. Several people glanced at him but if anything it was because people still tended to be unnerved at the sight of a Galarian Meowth than anything.

The two take their time crossing the bridge, Chenille mewing occasionally and picking up feathers to give Leon. It’s a quirk he loves, lips twitching as she keeps them on track but also keeps her eye out for anything not nailed down that’s pretty enough to bring her trainer. It’s a pleasant morning with a nice breeze, Leon using a hand signal to tell other trainers that he’s just passing through and not wanting to battle. It’s easy enough to get there, the view of Spikemuth in the distance filling Leon with a sort of eagerness he hasn’t felt in a while. He thinks perhaps that notion should fill him with some sort of shame, or something, but it doesn’t. It’s a testament to his near-constant complaint that he’s overworked, that he can’t keep up with the insanely demanding public appearances and overly dramatic battles every other week. He’d just spent all of last night with Raihan’s thumbs forcefully digging into the knots in his shoulders, too tired to complain about traveling for a week straight. He’d slept 11 hours, missing 6 calls and 2 alarms before effectively calling in sick and having Rotomphone set itself to do not disturb. Fielding calls and answering only from family and Raihan as he finally took a moment to just breathe as he made himself breakfast and just sat around zoning out for an hour before finally taking a shower to actually wake up for the day.

Chenille mewed softly, claws tapping against his thigh as he glanced down at her and nodded. She led them along a small path, giving Spikemuth a wide berth as they went around the city to a field behind it. It was far enough behind it where they shouldn’t be noticed from the city, or recognized from a distance if they were. Once they reached where the grass was plush and no pokemon would jump at them Chenille let go and ran off, chasing after dandelion tufts and flower petals dancing in the air. Leon sat down carefully and set his bag aside, laying back and squirming until he was comfortable. He breathed in deeply, eyelids drooping at the sweet scent of flowers and the warm sunlight that wasn’t too overbearing, the sound of Chenille nearby comforting. He’d found this spot about a month or two ago and came whenever he had a few hours to kill. No one would expect the champion to be spending his free time near Spikemuth after all.

Something cold and uncomfortable squirmed up his spine at the thought of people being so judgemental about the town and in relation the gym leader who lived there, but he pushed the feelings away in a direct refusal to be stressed during his sick day. His eyelids slid closed and he floated in a half-asleep dozing space, a pleasant fog enveloping him as he gained some much-needed rest. At some point Chenille snuggled up in the crook of his arm, soft fur pleasant and purring loudly as they both enjoyed the morning. After what felt like forever Chenille shifted in his arms, mewing softly and kneading her claws in his shoulder as someone approached them. Leon felt a brief moment of panic as his eyes flew open that seemed to instantly calm as he looked up at Piers, who was bent over looking down at him curiously. Leon was silent, wondering if he would be ratted out, but Piers merely blinked and shifted to sit next to him. They were both silent, Piers moving so he wasn’t blocking Leon’s sunlight and Leon beginning to drift again after he realized Piers wasn’t going to bother him. A gentle click alerted Leon to the expanding of a pokeball and the distinct sound of a release made him curious. He cracked an eye open and purring flooded the air, an Espeon curled between Piers's hands before he tapped its nose and it sauntered off.

“I thought you did dark types.”

Leon’s voice had a distinctly sleepy quality to it, soft and fumbling. Piers glanced at him as Chenille brought him a flower, taking direction from the Espeon who had several in its mouth. Piers took care to start weaving together what was brought to him in a chain, humming as his nimble fingers moved in a motion clearly done thousands of times before. Leon knew he was staring but he couldn’t make himself stop.

“What, you think I _only_ own dark types? That’s like saying you can _only_ own a Charizard.”

“Guess I just never thought you would, considering gym leader status and all. Espeon is a psychic type, how’d you evolve it?”

“I don’t know if you remember back during our gym challenge-”

Leon remembered quite a bit. He remembered the pinched quality of Piers's face, he remembered the way Raihan’s whole body shook in excitement when he beat a gym, the way Sonia would pull at her hair before every battle. Gordie got stuck on a ledge on the way to Stow-and-Side because he was afraid of heights (back then he had longer hair and softer features) but Piers had helped him at the cost of, what he had thought was back then precious time. As if they wouldn’t all battle the then-champion around the same time. He remembered Piers sharing potions and full restores and revives when he could, cold hands deftly plucking berries in the rain and nudging apples into his hands. He remembered Piers comforting Sonia awkwardly after a particularly hard loss in Circhester, Melony not far behind to offer condolences and advice. Leon swallowed hard and nodded, hands folded neatly over his belly, thinking about how much he remembered about Piers.

“-I caught that Eevee that I stressed over really badly?”

Ah. Leon remembered that part very clearly. Piers hadn’t really caught it so much as it had wandered into his tent in the middle of the night and Piers couldn’t seem to get rid of it after that, so he tapped it on the nose with a pokeball and considered it done. Leon had always vaguely wondered what had happened to it, but he’d honestly figured Piers had evolved it into an Umbreon.

“What was her name again?”

Leon mumbled as he blinked himself into further awareness and watched Piers’ fingers deftly twist together the flowers, forming what he now realized was a flower crown in the making.

“Her name’s Munchkin. Cause she was so small. She ended up evolving into an Espeon, kind of on accident. But I let her do her thing, so I just don’t really battle her since she isn’t a dark type.”

Leon remembered the entire Eevee fiasco, he’d been involved after all. Piers had come to him with a small Eevee in his arms asking for advice, not knowing much about Eevee as a pokemon. He and Leon had ended up placing evolution stones down in a line, allowing her to pick, but she’d run past them and woven around Piers thin legs. He’d looked so anxious helping Leon pack them back up, apologizing profusely for wasting Leon’s training time. Leon remembered wanting to do nothing more than gently holding his face and smoothing a thumb over the furrow in his brow until his expression smoothed out. Leon remembered wanting to do a lot of things with Piers, so badly that it ached deep in his chest.

He’d ended up doing nothing but watch Piers wave at him shyly after he’d been crowned champion, looking awkward in the Spikemuth gym leader uniform.

Leon watched Chenille and Munchkin tumble in the grass, sometimes nicking flowers to bring to Piers to keep his crown going and other times playing hide-and-seek. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head, twisting his spine and listening to the way it popped as he relaxed. Piers reached up out of the corner of his eye and Leon turned curiously, flinching as Piers's hands stilled to allow him time to adjust before gently placing the now finished flower crown on his head. Leon blinked at the new weight before his face flushed and he touched it gently, Piers already working on another one as Chenille brought him a bundle of flowers. Not knowing what to say, Leon kept his mouth shut and instead dragged his bag closer, digging into it and pulling out a pbj, neatly cut in a diagonal. He offered one half to Piers, who looked surprised but otherwise quietly took the half and nodded in thanks. They ate the sandwich quietly, Leon sneaking glances at Piers occasionally.

The rest of the afternoon slid by much the same. Piers occasionally shared a snippet of his life, which Leon absorbed greedily in some weird desperation to be included. Leon shared a bit as well, though admittedly not nearly half as family involved as his friend. Piers noticed, because of course he did, gently poking Leon in the temple and telling him to give Hop a call. Eventually, Chenille and Munchkin returned to their trainers, worn out from hours of play. Piers stood up, flower crown perched on his head and dusting off his pants. Leon had avoided this exact thing but he couldn’t help his gaze sweeping over his friend, how casual he looked and how much more comfortable than usual he seemed. No socks - no surprise there he hated them, comfortable-looking cardigan with a soft-looking t-shirt and black jeans. Leon blinked, realizing Piers had his hand out and flushing when he realized Piers had absolutely noticed him looking. He grabbed Piers's hand and was surprised at the strength behind the help Piers provided, though he was amused to know he still put his whole body into it just like he used to.

“Familiarity is important when looking for clarity.”

“Uh?”

Piers dusted off Leon’s shoulders, his own gaze sweeping over Leon’s loosely tied ankle boots and yoga pants.

“You called in sick today. You look tired. We really haven’t changed much, huh? Please take care of yourself.”

Leon stood thoroughly stunned as Piers clasped his hands and squeezed them gently, a small smile flickering tiredly on his lips before he waved and scooped Munchkin into his arms, walking back toward Spikemuth. Leon swallowed past the lump in his throat, curling his trembling hands into loose fists and shoving them into his pockets. He waited a beat before sucking in a breath and scrubbing at his eyes, hot and damp and itching from unspoken emotions. Having someone acknowledge that he was stretched thin without offering empty solutions was… nice. Leon composed himself for a minute more before Chenille mewed and tugged on his pocket. She led him back to the tunnel, across the bridge where she collected more feathers, and to the hotel where he recalled her and slid into the elevator. He waited to get back into his room before standing in the middle of the space and covering his mouth, screaming. He fumbled to get Rotom out of his pocket, frantically telling it to call Raihan as he tore the hoodie off of himself.

“Hey dude what’s u-”

“RAIHAN I’M GAY. I’M SO- _FUCK_.”

“Whoa- wait what the fuck-”

“ _PIERS_. I SAW. I WAS WITH PIERS ALL DAY-”

“Oh for _fuck’s sake_ Leon, are we 10 again?”

“He was-”

“Is that a flower crown?”

Leon paused from his flustered rambling, adjusting it on his head delicately. He looked at Rotom, glancing at the tiny windowed reflection of himself in the corner of the screen as Raihan’s big dumb face grinned at him.

“Piers made me a flower crown.”

Leon’s voice was quiet and contained, and Raihan’s big grin simmered down into something softer. He sat on the couch, shoulders slumped and pulling his hair from the bun it was tied in. Raihan spent the next 2 hours helping Leon verbally decompress, watching the way his hands fluttered to his head to touch the petals and his eyes go vaguely far away before returning. He reminded Leon to take off his binder and go shower, sighing as he finally disconnected with the now relaxed champion.

Fucking hell, he was going to have to relive his challenger days, wasn’t he?


	2. flaming hot cheetos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> live in the moment, that's what they tell me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing little snippets of leon's memories from his gym challenge. it's fun, plus the casual intimacy of being reminded of memories you haven't thought of in a very long time is pretty cool

Leon was dying.

Leon was also, admittedly, pretty dramatic about most things in life.

Leon wasn’t technically _actually_ dying, but it felt like it. He’d attempted to broach the topic of this chronic fatigue he was dealing with and the migraines and the sick feeling he had when waking up, but Rose still wasn’t listening and Oleana wasn’t on his side at all. So… Leon had done his research. He’d looked up his contract and how it’d changed over the years. He enlisted Raihan to help him and they’d tabbed up all the vacation time and sick days he’d never used and was entitled to that had just been building up. He had a lot of allotted time off it turned out, though he wasn’t really sure how to go about using it yet. For now, he called in sick for 2 days and got another hotel room in Hammerlocke. He’d been a bit anxious because Piers had started messaging him, a new development he could admit he loved a lot more than maybe he should. It wasn’t anything serious, Piers would send him pictures of Munchkin sleeping on his lap or her toe beans with a series of emojis meant to convey how soft he felt.

He’d also send a series of 3 question marks after that Leon had learned meant that he was asking for a picture back - some visual update to his life. So he’d send pictures of Chenille looking out the window toward the street, pictures of leaves, and trees, and flowers, and just pretty rocks he’d found in his travels. Selfies of him and Raihan, pictures of Sonia he’d managed to snap when visiting home more (he was glad he did it when he saw Sonia’s face light up receiving a new text from Piers. It felt like bringing his friends together again.) None of these snapshots could beat the text from Piers that invited him back though. A series of 3 question marks followed by 3 flower emojis. Leon sent back a sunrise and the ok symbol, received a thumbs up in return, and nearly combusted. He fretted about what to wear and what to bring before deciding it wouldn’t matter. Piers had never been one to be overly concerned about appearances, more often than not just trying to fade into the background. He’d always lacked self-confidence and Leon had always been loud about how he had no reason to feel that way. Leon realized now, being older, that while his words may have helped a little, it couldn’t fix the underlying problem… whatever it was. Leon took a deep breath and just decided to leave it for now, taking a shower and braiding his hair for the night. He fell asleep to the memory of sitting side by side on the Motostoke bridge, watching the sunrise and sipping hot chocolate.

Leon… felt good. He’d taken aspirin before going to bed and a nice hot shower and without a blaring alarm to startle him awake he’d gotten a lot of nice much-needed rest. He got out of bed and stretched out his spine, taking the time to warm his body up before puttering around to start his morning. The sunlight filtering through the windows was warm and Leon felt a sort of nice languid pleasure at being able to just enjoy a morning without rushing out the door. Chenille jumped onto the counter and purred happily at being given a small dish of cream while Leon drank a cup of coffee and checked his phone. Rotom rattled off that he had a plethora of missed calls and messages from both Rose and Oleana, and 2 from Raihan just informing him that Oleana was on the warpath looking for him. Leon really appreciated that Raihan was willing to somewhat cover for him, holding the story of him being sick and more than likely visiting home or something of the like. He knew that Oleana wasn’t dumb enough to storm his family’s home to go looking for him so he was totally safe for now. He tugged on purple leggings featuring little cartoon gengars and his boots, tossing on a hoodie and tucking his braid into it. He’d deal with the possible tangle later as he recalled Chenille for the moment, checking his pockets for wallet and keys.

It astounded him that no one seemed able to recognize him when he was wearing normal street clothes. Part of him thought maybe he should be more surprised, but with how often he was seen in public wearing the same exact outfit he was “crowned” in maybe it wasn’t so weird. Chenille was allowed out and they made their way through the busy streets, Chenille’s paw clasped around two of Leon’s fingers to guide him through the city. It was nice being able to glance around and people-watch without people losing their minds once they saw him. They exited the city and Rotom floated up out of his pocket with a new message flashing on the screen. It was a picture of the field, nicely framed to catch some of the distant blue skies, courtesy of Piers. Leon could make out Munchkin jumping around in the background and something in his chest eased knowing Piers was waiting for him. Part of him wanted to scoop Chenille up and just run with her the rest of the way there, but he knew he’d probably take a wrong turn somewhere and end up lost, so he allowed her to set the pace and lead. The distant image of Spikemuth grew closer and Chenille slowed, looking for the small path they usually took to get there.

But something was different today.

Leon shaded his eyes and blinked seeing two figures waiting outside the city. They were both sitting on the ground, eyes scanning the middle distance as they chatted. One was short and slouched, a small mouse-like pokemon wiggling up to settle on their shoulder. The other was taller, relaxed in the sunlight and leaning against the wall of the city with an Eevee perched in their lap. The shorter made eye contact with him and Leon jumped, even as they glanced quickly away. Leon paused as he was motioned over by the pair, glancing down at Chenille before scooping her up and making his way over despite the disgruntled mewing of his meowth. The shorter straightened up and look on with interest at Chenille, despite the chittering of the pokemon on their head.

“Piers says you should go right through the city, it’ll be easier to get to the field out back.”

Leon blinked as the taller jerked a thumb back towards the city.

“Oh!”

Leon’s face flushed pink and he felt the shorter burning a hole through him with their gaze.

“Right. Uh…”

“Around the side, there’s a hole in the wall, go through there. No one will bug you.”

Leon jerked his head in a nod and thanked the two, who waved him off, wandering around the side and ducking under the broken wall. The inside of Spikemuth was as dark as it was the last time, but everyone he passed seemed to be content. It was weird knowing the town was in a difficult spot, no dynamaxing abilities available and yet Piers never actually seemed interested in fixing that. He’d mumbled about money issues here and there but he never seemed ashamed, but Leon thought maybe he was starting to see why as he passed people with ear defenders and signing, others who backed away as he passed or flinched. There had been rumors that Spikemuth was a sort of large community of disabled people who found solace in a place where loud pokemon battles weren’t an option but this was the first he was seeing it with clear eyes. He walked through and ducked back out at an exit he found through the help of others who pointed it out, nodding in thanks as he ducked through.

Seeing it from this angle was just as breathtaking, maybe even more.

Spikemuth was angled perfectly above sprawling flower fields, seas of color gently swaying in the breeze. Leon tugged his hood down (the kids who were making daisy chains nearby didn’t seem surprised to see him at all) and started walking, seeing the black and white haired figure in the distance. He approached with his hands in his hoodie pockets, smiling as Piers looked up at him. He’d already made several crowns by now and Munchkin came bounding over with another mouthful of flowers, setting them down and sitting nicely before Leon. Leon set down Chenille and the two bounded off together to play in the grass, tumbling together happily. Leon almost didn’t notice Piers’s pale hand reach up to tug him down, but he allowed it even if he was confused about being situated in front of Piers. He had his answer when Piers pulled out the elastic and started to untangle his hair.

“You look better.”

“I’m taking 2 sick days off. So you told the town I was visiting?”

Leon was teasing but felt the apology on the tip of Piers’s tongue in the way his hands paused.

“Leo and Hollis are good people, they offered to keep watch and get you inside. Better than walking around where someone could get suspicious. Plus it’s a straight shot right through and no one will bother you.”

Leon hummed in agreement, though he was distracted by the nice methodical feeling of Piers’s hands.

“You’ll never guess what I found.”

“Oh?”

Leon murmured, half paying attention and half sun drunk. Piers removed his hands and Leon battled the swell of disappointment in his chest, instead blinking and turning to where Piers was looking through a bag. He pulled out a worn stuffed Honchkrow, clearly having seen years of use based on the faded colors and threadbare quality.

“Wait…”

_“Leon I NEED him!”_

_Leon frowned as Piers started to cry, fretting as tiny sobs shook Piers’s already thin shoulders._

_“I’ll help you get him back! I promise!”_

“Oh shit, you still have him?”

Leon watched the furrow in Piers’s brow smoothe out as he passed the plush between his hands, fingers twitching in familiar grooves and holds. He nodded and gaze Leon a shy smile, tucking it back in his bag and shifting to burrow his hands back in Leon’s hair. He untangled it slowly, encouraging Leon to talk, to vent, to decompress in a way that was familiar and yet all new. Before he knew it Leon was leaning back into Piers’s space, his hands gently scraping at his skull as Piers smoothed out the frizz and twisted it up to the back of his head, using a big clip to secure it in place. Piers didn’t twist together any more crowns, despite the growing pile of flowers that Munchkin and Chenille had accumulated. Leon’s head rested back against Piers’s chest, shifting with the steady movement of Piers’s breathing. Leon closed his eyes and allowed him to be submerged in the memory of firelight, making curry over a hot campfire with Piers slicing berries and chucking them right into the pot. Charmeleon nearly bowling them both over as it bubbled and Piers having to shoo away his Chinchou from the rice maker.

He remembered it drizzling, sitting side by side under the rain protector thrown over the tent, Piers feeding his pokemon bite by bite. He remembered similar situations, not as soft but no less important, with his other friends. A whole afternoon fishing with Gordie, hunting for apples to give to their Applins with Raihan, excitedly holding hands and jumping with Sonia as their pokemon evolved in flashes of light. Leon wondered where all that free time went, where suddenly he felt adrift at sea realizing he hadn’t talked to his friends in days or even weeks. He sniffled and pressed his hot eyelids together, sighing at the sensation of Piers’s cool fingertips settling over his face. Part of him screamed that he should be embarrassed for being seen so weak, so fragile, but he also realized that was the champion part of him and not the Leon that Piers knew. The Leon that Piers knew climbed a rock and then cried when he fell, even after Piers had told him not to do it cause he’d get hurt.

Leon blinked his eyes open and glanced up, seeing Piers looking back down in the fading sunlight. He saw his Piers, 10 again and too shy to catch pokemon while people were watching him, but when he blinked he saw an older Piers, still his friend, his Piers, tired all the same but for different reasons. He was upset to think he didn’t know those reasons, not entirely anyway. They shared a moment, both quiet in the face of so much time having passed and knowing they drifted apart. Piers broke the seriousness of the moment first, slapping both hands against Leon’s face and squishing it, muffling his yelp. He sat back and Leon shot up, grumbling as Piers smothered his smile and dragged his bag closer. He pulled out some containers and handed one to Leon along with a fork. Leon pried the top off and hummed at the sight of pasta salad, digging in once he realized how hungry he was. More time had passed than he realized as he chewed and glanced at Piers, who was concentrating on his pasta a lot more than Leon was. Leon finished his pasta and wiggled back so he was sitting more side by side with Piers, who paused to glance at him for a brief moment before continuing to eat. Leon leaned back and reached behind Piers to drag the bag closer, rifling through it because he knew Piers hadn’t changed _that_ much which meant if he had brought food he’d gone several extra miles.

And, well? He was right. Leon grinned as he pulled out 2 bottles of iced tea and a blueberry muffin for himself, cracking one of the bottles open for Piers and setting it next to him. Piers hummed in thanks around his fork and Leon sipped his own iced tea, watching the sun slowly start to set in the distance. Chenille and Munchkin lay together further down the field, tails twisted together and watching flower petals dance in the air. Piers reached over once he was finished his pasta, stealing a small chunk of muffin and eating it in small pieces. Leon felt content, more relaxed than he’d been in a long time. Leon felt himself settle for the first time in a long time. No need to get up and run around or twitch uselessly in his chair when the room got stuffy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Piers reach over and decided to meet him halfway.

Piers clasped his hand around Leon’s gently and for the first time in a very long time, they both felt like the future didn’t seem so bleak.


End file.
